Page 14 - Australian Defence Magazine Feb-Mar 2023

DEFENCE
house will create approximately 20 imme- diate jobs as part of a growth path to more than 500 long-term F-35 sustainment jobs in future years.”
“This contract is an integral part of building fighter jet sovereign capability within Australia and I am delighted we are able to expand our current contribu- tion to the F-35 program,” Andrew Gresh- am, BAE Systems Australia, Managing Director for Defence Delivery added.
“For 30 years, we have provided mainte- nance and upgrades to the Royal Australian Air Force jets and the inclusion of the Asia-
Pacific Regional Warehouse not only in- creases Australia’s global defence footprint, it cements Williamtown as an aerospace hub.”
To date, over $3 billion in F-35 pro- duction and sustainment contracts have been secured by more than 70 Australian firms, which Lockheed Martin forecasts to increase several-fold during the life of the program.
As the F-35 original equipment manu- facturer and sustainment prime, Lockheed Martin uses advanced data analytics to op- timise readiness of F-35 fleets across the globe, the company explains. This ensures the appropriate spares holdings are kept at the various warehouses across the F-35 logistics network in response to ‘changing operational priorities and tempo’.
president and general manager, Land Systems, said. “Together IAI and L3Har- ris have a superior combined knowledge and capability in this field. Further trials are ongoing with very positive reports, so we are confident that the full system will meet the local requirements.”
L3Harris’ decade-long relationship with ELTA has led to the company becoming the prime contractor for the delivery of the solution.
“Our strong partnership with ELTA has ensured they see us as a safe pair of hands, which is why we were approached to provide Australian Industry Capabil- ity and act as prime for local projects,” Earey said. “We look forward to working with ELTA to ultimately deliver a truly sovereign capability for Australian service members.”
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FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
BAE SYSTEMS TO BUILD F-35 REGIONAL WAREHOUSE
LEFT: Lockheed Martin uses advanced data analytics to optimise readiness of F-35 fleets across the globe
In addition to maintaining RAAF F-35 aircraft, the facility will support F-35 vari- ants operating in the region. This includes aircraft operating out of the Singapore, Ja- pan and South Korea, from US Navy and Royal Navy carrier aircraft and US Ma- rine Corps F-35Bs deployed in the region.
“The establishment of a regional ware- housing and distribution network for the Indo-Pacific will increase F-35 opera- tional resilience for Australia and region- al F-35 operators, including US forces deployed in the Indo-Pacific,” Warren McDonald, Lockheed Martin Australia Chief Executive said. “The regional ware-
LOCKHEED Martin has awarded a contract worth over A$1.6 million to BAE Systems Australia to establish a regional ware- house to sustain F-35s. The warehouse is co-located with RAAF Base Williamtown in New South Wales and is intended to store replenishment spares for F-35 opera- tions in Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
Housing critical parts of the Joint Strike Fighter, the warehouse is the third facility in the global support solution for the F-35 program, for which Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor, with lo- cations already in the Netherlands and United States.
L3HARRIS AND IAI PARTNER ON VEHICLE PROTECTION SYSTEM
L3HARRIS Technologies has entered into a teaming agreement with IAI-ELTA Sys- tems to deliver a sophisticated fire detec- tion and response capability for Austra- lian armoured fighting vehicles.
The new system is expected to enable a combat vehicle – when it encounters live fires – to immediately detect incom- ing rounds and initiate self-defence re- sponses, which include a combination of electronic warfare measures and kinetic effects.
“Manufactured by L3Harris Micreo in Brisbane, the system sensors are easily deployed and integrated onto any vehicle.
They will not only rapidly detect live fires, but will be intuitive for operators in any battlespace to employ,” Sarah Earey, man- aging director of Intelligence and Cyber International – APAC at L3Harris said.
The advanced tactical sensors for the system were developed by ELTA, including the StormGuard Tactical Multi-mission Radar System, Othello Optical Threat Locator and Othello-P Opto-Acoustic Hostile Fire Location System.
“IAI looks forward to working with L3Harris Technologies to provide these unique sensors for armoured vehicles in Australia,” Zvi Yarom, IAI-ELTA’s vice